"Murder, She Wrote" Lovers and Other Killers (1984)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Allen Reisner

Writers:

Peter S. Fischer (creator)
Peter S. Fischer (written by)

TV Series:

"Murder, She Wrote" (1984)

Original Air Date:

18 November 1984 (Season 1, Episode 5)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

An intruder kills rich old lady Allison Brevard while burglarizing her townhouse. When Jessica goes...

Plot Keywords:

Swimwear | Pool | Cult TV | Murder | Mystery Writer

Cast

Angela Lansbury	...	Jessica Fletcher
Grant Goodeve	...	Jack Kowalski
Peter Graves	...	Dr. Edmund Gerard
Greg Morris	...	Lt. Andrews
Lois Nettleton	...	Amelia
Andrew Prine	...	Prof. Todd Lowery
Andrew Stevens	...	David Tolliver
Lory Walsh	...	Lila Schroeder Kowalski

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Trivia:

This was evidently the first regular episode to be filmed, and may have even been a second pilot to the series. This was the only episode produced by Douglas Benton (Robert F. O'Neill is supervising producer; he was producer for the other regular episodes until the fifth season, when he became supervising producer again); the typeface for the opening credits is noticeably larger and whiter than for any other episode; the episode itself contains two sequences for the opening credits not seen in the pilot or in the Jessica-typing sequence (Jessica firing a fake gun for a class and someone pushing Jessica, in silhouette, down a flight of stairs); and the closing credits are run slightly differently: there is a break between each credit card (the series virtually always jumped from one card to another with no breaks). There are also fewer guest stars (seven) on this show than on any other, with several bit players not credited at all (the old society lady killed at the beginning, two Chinese nuns and several classroom students have speaking parts but aren't listed).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): David Tolliver refers to Jack Kowalski as Jack Schroeder.

Movie Connections:

References Lovers and Other Strangers (1970)

The best episode of the first season.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I absolutely loved this episode, especially as it came so early on in the first season. There is a real chemistry between Angela Lansbury and Andrew Stevens, despite the age difference, and it really pays off well in this episode.

The ending of the episode always lingers with me as well. It has a very ambiguous sentiment at the end, and you're left never being totally sure if David (Andrew Stevens' character) is a killer or not, despite someone else committing the episode's murder. It's a very smart story with strong central performances, with the sort of ending the show didn't have many of.

Excellent.